Sempiternal Hope
by WhatComesFromWithin
Summary: The world has turned to chaos. Petunia Dursley doesn't know if her sister and her family are alive or dead. She spends every day hoping that she won't hear the name "Potter" on the radio broadcast. Apocalypse!AU. For Elizabeth :)


**This was written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments) Paleontology: Task 9 - Write about not knowing whether someone is alive or dead.**

**Word Count: 2998**

**Warnings: Apocalypse!AU, so mentions of death, mentions of nightmares, lots of angst, brief language**

**Also, in this story, Voldemort was defeated before he goes after Harry. So many people who would otherwise be dead are alive. Enjoy!**

**For Elizabeth. Happy Birthday :)**

Petunia turned the volume on the radio up minutely. The list of names washed over her, unfamiliar to her ears and hence soothing the pain in her heart. Tension eased from her shoulders as the radio announcer droned on with each unknown name. After what felt like an eternity, he announced the end of the broadcast. Sighing in relief, Petunia shut of the radio.

Her son greeted her as she walked into the communal area. "Come this way," Dudley urged, gently guiding her by the elbow as he walked to an armchair in the corner of the spacious room, far from prying eyes and ears. Petunia smiled. It was sweet of Dudley to try to give her what privacy he could.

He knelt beside her and placed a large hand atop her frail one. "Mum," he whispered, "who...did you hear—"

"No," she cut him off as she turned her hand and laced together their fingers. "They haven't been captured, at least."

Petunia watched as Dudley's face relaxed, heart aching again. They couldn't lose any more family. This whole..._catastrophe_, she decided, had already taken so much from the two of them. The life that they'd known had been flipped on its head. Instead of living comfortably at home, cooking, cleaning, leading a _normal life_, she was sitting in a dusty armchair in a large room filled with many other families, none of whom she'd been acquainted with before this mess started, listening to an old radio rattle off the names of the poor folk confirmed dead.

"Dudley," she rasped, clutching his hand, "do you think that they're dead?"

Petunia and Dudley didn't use that word often. It was too depressing, too permanent. There wasn't much hope to be had in the Center, but what little they did have was gripped tightly and never let go of. To pronounce another loved one dead was to release your grip, just slightly. She'd nearly let go entirely when she heard of Vernon's death.

Dudley started rubbing his thumb up and down the side of her hand. "I don't know, Mum," he replied at length. "The apocalypse has been hard on everyone—"

"Don't call it that, Dudley."

"—and I don't know what it was like for Aunt Lily and her family when the disease started to spread. I don't know how many people in their area were affected or if they managed to reach a Center. But I do know that they won't go down without a fight," he reassured her. "Besides," he added in a whisper, "the Potters have magic on their side."

Petunia cracked a small smile. "I suppose that's true."

Dudley stood up and tugged gently on her hand. "Let's go back to our room, Mum. I think you've had enough time in the Communes for today."

* * *

_Tune in, everyone, for today's list of deceased. _

_Hannah Abbott._

_Amelia Bones._

_Susan Bones._

_Terry Boot._

_Agravaine Clapham._

_Denise Colton._

_Vincent Crabbe. _

_Colin Creevy._

_Dennis Creevy._

_Barty Crouch Jr._

_Olivia Dalton._

_Gabrielle Delacour._

_Amos Diggory…_

* * *

"Wash up, Mum, and we can head to breakfast."

Petunia let her grip on the radio slacken. The broadcast had just finished, and no Potters had been mentioned. While great relief and gratitude followed every broadcast that didn't include Lily or her husband or son's name, trepidation and worry did, too. She had been living with Dudley in the Center for six months now. She'd heard not one word from or about the Potters. Surely Lily would have made it to a center by now, right? Six months was a long time, and with the use of magic, the journey to a Center should have been made all the easier. But Petunia couldn't help but worry that Lily, Harry, and James were living on their own, hunting for food like animals, sleeping in dangerously filthy places, fighting for their survival. The people who arrived at the Center these days were almost always malnourished, and some were even edging on insanity. Petunia just couldn't imagine something like that happening to her family. She closed her eyes, pained. Harry was Dudley's age. He shouldn't be living like that. _Dudley _shouldn't be living like he was, but Harry had it even worse if he hadn't made it to a center yet. In the Center they at least had gardens and fresh food. They had blankets and cots, a radio, fresh water from a reservoir that was carefully reserved and tested for traces of disease. They were protected here from the afflicted members of the human race. Petunia always shuddered when she thought about them. Poor souls.

A hand on her shoulder stirred her from her thoughts. "Mum?"

Petunia stood up. "Yes. Sorry, Dudders. I'll go wash."

* * *

_Eduna Easton._

_Marietta Edgecombe._

_Evelyn Everly. _

_Elizabeth Fawcett._

_Justin Finch-Fletchley._

_Florean Fortescue._

_Anthony Goldstein._

_Hermione Granger. _

_Astoria Greengrass._

_Daphne Greengrass._

_Anthony Hamilton._

_Lila Henderson._

_Jenna Holton._

_Mafalda Hopkirk…_

* * *

Petunia awoke trembling. She'd been having the same dream several times a week now, and nothing she tried did anything to stop it. Vernon's death had been haunting her for months. Every night, she heard him shouting at her to take Dudley and run through the door to the Center. Every night, she saw him pick up half of a broken baseball bat and swing wildly at the undead advancing on him. Every night, she saw herself running, pulled along by Dudley's firm grip on her arm. Every night, she saw herself arriving at the door to the Center and healthy people pulling Dudley through the narrow opening while she glanced over her shoulder.

Every night, she saw people pulling her through the doorway as, not even ten meters away from her, the undead overwhelmed Vernon and one bit his shoulder.

Petunia supposed she should be grateful that she hadn't had to watch her husband turn. But they also said that everyone should be grateful that a "cure" was being developed, one that would wipe out the infection by wiping out those infected. As they said, to kill the dead was to save the living.

Hearing _Vernon Dursley_ on the radio the following day shook her from her state of shock and numbness; it shattered something inside her.

While on the run from Privet Drive, Petunia hadn't had much time to think. Everyone was frantic; humanity was stripped away from everyone as they all rushed to get away from the epidemic. When news of a safe haven, a Center, reached them, they all did what they could to reach it. Some people died on the way, from malnutrition and dehydration as well as the disease. Watching the people around you drop like flies, wondering if you'd be the next one gone, hadn't been good for anyone's health. Perhaps the worst part of traveling in mass groups was that you knew you'd be abandoned if you fell behind. There was safety in numbers, but with how quickly those numbers were declining, stopping was risky. Too much risk, and you got killed.

But Petunia had made it to the shelter, as had her son, which was more than most people could say. Now that she was safe, she had time to think. And time to worry.

As far as Petunia knew, her sister Lily had been with her husband, James, and son, Harry, when the epidemic initially broke out. She didn't know if the Potters had evacuated before or after the government shut down. She didn't know if there were any Centers near them. She had no way of knowing if one of them—or all of them—had been bitten. What she did know was that no one had found them dead yet.

Petunia hoped they were okay.

If James was dead, or if Harry was dead...well, she didn't know what she'd feel, but she knew she'd be sad. James wasn't so bad, deep down, and sometimes he was even funny. Vernon never found him as such; in fact, he'd never really come to like James all that much, although he did do his best to tolerate him for Petunia's sake. He did the same for Harry. Dudley and Harry didn't get along that well either, but their relationship was better than James and Vernon's. The boys, at least, were capable of having a civil conversation one-on-one.

Lily and Petunia were trying. Their childhood had been rough, to say the least. Petunia had honestly thought that she would be okay not having anything to do with her sister, that they could never speak or see each other again, and she would still be happy. Unfortunately, it had taken a war for Petunia to see sense.

When Lily came to their home on Privet Drive with her son and husband and explained what all the tragedies in the paper were really caused by, Petunia had had a revelation. Despite all the horrible things that she had said to Lily, her sister still wanted her to be safe. She still went out of her way to try and persuade Petunia to come to their home in Godric's Hollow or to allow her to put wards on her house so that they would be protected. Petunia and Vernon had agreed to let the group Lily was in—the Order of something—put up wards on their house, and from then on kept in tentative touch with the Potters throughout the war. Thankfully, the Order managed to take down the mass murderer and different...objects that his life force was connected to. Petunia didn't really understand it, but it didn't matter anymore. It was over.

Still, she had come so close to losing Lily. As a result of that war, they'd started to keep in touch more, and soon they were having lunch together every month. Their relationship was far from fixed, but it was mending. Visiting each other, getting to know each other's families at last...life had been good.

Then this outbreak had happened, and everything changed for the worse.

Petunia didn't know what she would do if Lily turned out to be dead. There was so much that was still unsaid, so much that they still had to do and experience together. Petunia didn't think she could stand to lose someone else. It would kill her.

* * *

_Angela Hornsby._

_Achaius Innes._

_Callahan James._

_Hyperion Jennings._

_Lee Jordan._

_Joyce Joyner._

_Igor Karkaroff._

_Mary Keene._

_Oliver Keene._

_Olympia Keene._

_Percival Keene._

_Selene Keene._

_Nicholas Kent._

_Silvanus Kettleburn…_

* * *

Gardening was nice. It was how Petunia was contributing to improving life in the Center. Sometimes she helped cook, but usually she helped gardening. Growing these plants returned a sense of control over her new life. She smiled as she watered some tomatoes.

As Petunia wiped some water droplets from her hands onto her pants, a loud beeping started blaring throughout the Center. She tensed; that was the tone that indicated a new arrival at the Center. Hurriedly, she returned her watering can to its rightful place and made her way to the communal area, where half of the Center was already waiting.

Petunia scanned the gathered crowd for a familiar head of blond hair. "Dudley!" she called.

She spotted him near the front as he turned at the sound of her voice. He motioned for her to come over to him, and Petunia started to push her way through the crowd to reach him.

Dudley grabbed her arm once she was standing next to him. "Three new arrivals, Mum," he whispered.

Petunia bit her lip. "Do you think…?"

Dudley shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and see."

And so they stood, hoping but trying not to hope, that the three people who would come through the door next would be their family.

While they waited, Petunia asked her son softly, "Do you like Harry, Dudley?"

Dudley looked mildly surprised by the question. "Yeah," he replied, "I like Harry. We're not best mates, or anything, but I was getting on with him fine before...this happened. I don't want him dead," he finished quietly.

Petunia nodded. "I don't want them dead, either."

Dudley smiled in understanding. "I know, Mum."

* * *

_Lucas Lawrence._

_Gilderoy Lockhart._

_Augusta Longbottom._

_Xenophilius Lovegood._

_Remus Lupin. _

_Narcissa Malfoy._

_Olympe Maxime._

_Maggie McDonald._

_Graham Montague._

_Alastor Moody._

_Arista Moriarty._

_Corinne Morton..._

* * *

"It always takes so long for the new arrivals to come through the door," Petunia fretted.

"They have to make sure no one's been bitten, Mum," Dudley reminded her.

"I know," Petunia sighed, "but the waiting always gets to me. Every time, I hope to see Lily, James, or Harry. Every time, I'm disappointed. If I'm to be disappointed, I want it to come quickly."

"Yeah," Dudley muttered. "Yeah, I get that."

"Still," Petunia mused aloud, "I suppose it would be almost as bad if two of them came in without the other. Or, heaven forbid, if one came in without the other two."

"That won't happen," Dudley stated firmly. "They'll come together or they won't come at all."

Petunia frowned at him in disapproval. "Don't say things like that. I'd rather have one Potter than none at all."

"So would I, Mum, but I don't think that they'd let one of them die. It's all or none with them, I think."

A sudden thought struck Petunia. "What if Harry was away at a friend's house when disaster struck?" she asked in a whisper. "Or at that magic school?" They had to be careful that no one else heard them now, but everyone was having their own conversation at this point, so she really didn't think that they'd be able to hear the two of them.

Some of the blood drained from Dudley's face. "Shit."

"_Dudley_!"

* * *

_Theodore Nott._

_Hannah Nibley._

_Bridget Northcott._

_Daisy Northcott._

_Jane Northcott._

_Susan Northcott._

_Therese Northcott._

_Wendy Northcott._

_Peter Ogden._

_Garrick Ollivander. _

_Iris Paxton._

_Peter Pettigrew._

_Irma Pince..._

* * *

"Sorry, Mum. But what if you're right? Blimey, we've been so stupid, assuming that they'd be together all this time—"

"I really wanted reassurance that they _would_ be together, Dudley, not that I could be right—"

"Well—"

"Surely they would have some...special way of getting into contact with one another? I mean, they _are_ magical—"

"But we don't know how magic works!" Dudley argued back in a whisper. "For all we know, spells could be all messed up because of this epidemic! And what if—" Dudley cut himself off and then continued hoarsely, "What if they lost their wands? Or broke them?"

Petunia was quiet. "We'll just have to hope that isn't the case," she whispered at last.

What did James Potter always say? Merlin. Merlin, she hoped they were alright, that these new arrivals were them. Petunia couldn't take another heartbreak.

Conversation in the crowd ceased abruptly as the door started to inch open. Dudley tightened his grip on her arm. Petunia's hands started to shake.

* * *

_Georgia Pinkery._

_Raymond Pinkery. _

_Sabrina Placem._

_Henry Placencio._

_Flora Pleckett._

_Poppy Pomfrey._

_Priscilla Pommell._

_Andromeda Ponet._

_Barnabus Poole-Warren._

_Cecilia Porting._

_Edward Porting. _

_Alice Potterman._

_Irene Powell…_

* * *

Petunia stood on her tiptoes, straining to see around the people in front of her. Then from her left, she heard Dudley gasp.

"What? What is it? _Who_ is it?" Petunia demanded.

Dudley, who was taller than her, started to wave his hand in the air wildly. As he did so, he turned and faced Petunia, teary eyed. "It's them, Mum. It's Harry and Aunt Lily and Uncle James!"

Heart thundering in her chest, Petunia once again strained to see over the crowd. As the people in front of her started to disperse, obviously disappointed that they didn't recognize the newcomers, Petunia caught a glimpse of two heads of messy black hair and one of flaming red.

"_Lily_!" she shrieked. She started to shove her way to her sister's side. "Lily!"

It was James who heard her first. A wide grin split his weary face as he tugged on his wife's arm and pointed at Petunia. Once Lily's green eyes met Petunia's, she started to run toward her, dragging James and Harry along the way.

The two sisters met in a tight embrace. Lily was sobbing, and Petunia just kept murmuring reassurances to her. From over Lily's shoulder, she watched as Dudley held out a hand for his uncle to shake, and then as James used it to pull his nephew into a hug. When they broke their hug, Dudley turned to hug Harry. It really warmed Petunia's heart to see her nephew and son sharing a moment like that, although she did feel a little like she was intruding by watching. No matter; they were all too relieved to care much about something like that.

Finally, Lily pulled back. She looked around. "Tuney," she asked, "where's Vernon?"

Petunia looked at Dudley, and then at the floor.

"Oh, Tuney," Lily whispered, eyes wide, "I'm so, so sorry." She leaned over and kissed Petunia's cheek, all the while rubbing circles onto the back of her hand.

Petunia met her sister's gaze. "I'm so happy you're here," she choked out.

"So are we," Lily answered wetly. "So are we."

James walked over to the two of them. Even after all that had happened, he still had that familiar swagger in his step. "It's good to see you again, Petunia." He held out his arms. "My turn."

Petunia smiled tiredly at James, letting go of Lily's hand, and walked over to wrap her arms around him. They squeezed each other tightly, and in a distant part of her mind Petunia noted that this was the first time the two of them had hugged each other. "It's good to see you, too, James."

After a moment, Petunia stepped back. She turned to Harry, who was already stepping forward to return her embrace.

"I'm glad you're okay, Aunt Petunia," he said.

"And I'm glad you lot are, too." Petunia cupped Harry's face and kissed his forehead. She turned to the rest of the group.

The rest of her family, united at last.

"Come on. We've got lots of catching up to do."


End file.
